Vital safety-oriented vacancies of 16 guards lying vacant at rly station

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 13

Vital safety-oriented vacancies of 16 guards are lying vacant at the local railway station.

The shortage is severe in the case of goods train guards with half of the posts of guards out of a total of 21 lying vacant. On the other hand, there is a shortage of five guards in the mail and express trains. The sanctioned strength of guards for the mail and express trains are 39 while 34 are working at present.

Sources at the railway station stated that the job is left to supervising officials to carry out at times.

In railway traffic, guards perform vital and sensitive jobs. It is all the more significant at a destination like Amritsar that witnesses the arrival and departure of over 130 trains from different parts of the country daily.

A guard is the in charge of a running train and goods guards are in charge of a goods train.

Guards’ job profile includes to get the vehicle guidance (a written document containing number of wagons, their weight, load tonnage of individual wagons, total tonnage) from Station Master/Yard Master, checking the entire formation for anything that can endanger safe running of trains, ensure that the doors of wagons are closed, check the brake continuity with Loco Pilot, sign the Brake Power certificate (BPC) after ensuring sufficient brake power and constantly monitor the formation on the run for any abnormalities.

Besides, guards prepare train reports like Combined Train Reports, late arrival reports and attend along with technical staff minor troubles experienced on the run like brake-binding, etc.

At times the shortage of guards become severe when they go for periodic training courses at Zonal Training School, Chandoi, in Moradabad district. They also attend safety camps which have a validity for five years. They undergo night-vision test every three years and post-50 years of age the test is conducted every year.

Senior railway officials at the railway station stated that they can only forward the number of vacant positions to the head office and the power to recruit the guards vests with it.